Picking up the Pieces
by shanejayell
Summary: In the aftermath of war, all you can do is pick up the pieces and move on.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters from Madlax, I'm only borrowing them for awhile. This story will have spoilers for the end of Madlax, as well as yuri content.

Madlax: Picking up the Pieces

Margaret Burton stood before the gate of the new age, and opened it. She saw a vision of the world as it was, and what it could be, and used her new found power to try to fix things. Friends had died and been wounded and Margaret did her best to fix that, too.

Of course Margaret was a young girl, so accidents did happen...

Vanessa Rene slept peacefully, wrapped in warm blankets. The black haired woman slept deeply and in sweet dreams, relaxing in the bed after a very long few days. She gradually came awake, her mind rising up through deep layers of sleep even as memory began to intrude on dreams.

Going to Gazth-Sonika looking for the Enfant data...

Hiring Madlax, working with the mysterious young gunwoman...

Moments of closeness, tenderness together. Madlax saving her life more than once, and taking up a gun herself...

An attack in the forest. A crazy sniper, a shot rang out...

Vanessa's eyes snapped open as she stared up at the ceiling of the hotel. She had been shot! In fact, Vanessa was fairly certain she had been dead. She flipped back the covers to look, relieved she didn't see any wounds or other marks.

"Could you please not do that?" a sleepy voice asked, "I'm trying to sleep."

Vanessa looked down to see Elenore Baker laying beside her in the bed, the brown haired maid clearly not entirely awake yet. 'How the...?' Vanessa wondered as she gently shook her by the shoulder. Elenore made a sleepy grumbling noise, her face creasing in a frown.

"Elenore, wake up," Vanessa said, shaking her.

"Ugh," Elenore blinked sleepily, much like her mistress Margaret might.

Vanessa played dirty, "Margaret is in trouble."

THAT registered, Elenore jerking up and looking around wildly, her eyes narrowing intently. "Where...?" she started, then realized she was naked and in bed with Vanessa. "What is going on?" she demanded flatly.

"I was sort of hoping you could tell me," Vanessa offered wryly, looking around the hotel room curiously. It looked like the room she had stayed in earlier, and she felt a flash of relief at seeing their clothes piled up neatly nearby.

"My memory isn't entirely clear," Elenore conceded, modestly wrapping the sheet around her as she got out of bed and walked to their waiting clothes. "Miss Margaret?" she asked, dropping the sheet and dressing efficiently.

"No idea," Vanessa said, taking a moment to get a good look at Elenore's naked form. The maid was quite shapely, really... She shook herself as she continued, "The feeling I get is that she's fine."

"Feeling?" Elenore raised a eyebrow skeptically, her black dress settling into place, then she tied her apron over it. The outfit looked good on her, as she tidied her skirt and made sure everything was sitting properly.

"Don't tell me you don't feel it?" Vanessa asked as she retrieved her own clothes and got dressed. White shirt and trousers, clean and almost feeling like they hadn't been worn. 'Was my old outfit destroyed or...?' she wondered.

Elenore didn't look happy, but she nodded. "Yes, I feel it too," she conceded, "but with all the strange things that have happened..."

"True," Vanessa narrowed her green eyes as she pulled her shoes on and hunted around for her purse and gun, "let's see it we can find her."

The hotel was based in the 'neutral zone' in Gazth-Sonika, but Vanessa had always heard off in the distance the sound of violence, guns and distant explosions. Now that was silent, and there was a odd feeling of peace in the air.

"It feels... different," Elenore noted as they walked, guided by a feelings and instinct rather than any logical choice..

"It's peaceful," Vanessa agreed, the two walking over a rise. They paused a moments as they looked around, then she smiled as she pointed, "Look!"

Margaret was talking with a red haired girl, the two standing on the bottom of a slope. As they watched they saw Madlax driving by in a sports car of some kind, and shockingly the sniper Limelda was in the passenger seat.

"Come on," Elenore said as she hurried down the rise, then she called out, "Miss Margaret!"

Margaret Burton's face lit up as she saw them, then she was engulfed in a hug from Elenore. "You're both all right!" she exclaimed happily.

Vanessa followed her down, still feeling oddly shaken by seeing Madlax and Limelda together. It wasn't a betrayal of her, exactly, but she knew that she and Madlax had become close, in their time on the run. It felt very strange, seeing Madlax being so close to her.

"Vanessa!" Margaret yelled as she hugged her too, the young woman's grip fierce.

Vanessa hugged her back, smiling down at her fond;y. "I'm glad you made it through, too," she told her, ruffling the smaller woman's hair. She looked up at the girl shyly standing nearby, "Who's your friend?"

"Oh," Margaret smiled shyly herself, "This is Laetita, uhm... she's kind of my sister. Sort of."

"Hello," Laetita smiled, the girl looking about the age Margaret had when she first disappeared.

"Miss Laetita," Elenore smiled at her gently, "it's good to meet you."

"Hello," Vanessa smiled at the girl, then looked over at Margaret, "I take it this is related to the three books and your gift?"

"Yeah," Margaret said, then began to haltingly explain.

It was a bit stunning to take in, that Madlax, Margaret and this girl Laetita were all aspects of the same person. Laetita was Margaret's memory before the accident and her disappearance, Margaret was the blank slate who escaped afterwards and Madlax was the personification of her primal survival instinct, in a way.

Elenore and Vanessa took charge as the only adults present, getting the girls back to the hotel even as they got things organized. Thankfully whatever Margaret had done had seemingly erased the cops chasing Vanessa and Madlax, as well as provided for their essentials. In addition to restored money for them all, Laetita even had a passport waiting at the hotel.

A fast conversation and they decided to head back to Nafrace, where they had lives to try to pick up. Though Vanessa honestly doubted she would or even could go back to her own life. She had helped reveal her bosses were in bed with organized crime, after all. And to be honest she didn't want to work for them again.

The evening flight took off as scheduled, and amusingly both Margaret and Leatita collapsed, out like a light. Elenore checked on the two sleeping girls then returned to her seat, smiling fondly. "They look adorable," she noted fondly.

"That they do," Vanessa had to agree.

Elenore looked over at Vanessa as she asked, "You seemed troubled by what Margaret told us."

"It's a lot to take in," Vanessa admitted. "I mean, knowing the Margaret rewrote reality ten years ago to split herself... then again now, to save us and stop the civil war? It's mind boggling."

"Hmm," Elenore nodded calmly. She waved down the stewardess and got them each a drink, then looked at Vanessa once she left. "But there's something else bothering you, isn't there?"

Vanessa gave Elenore a look, "You read me entirely too well."

"Practice," Elenore shrugged, "well?"

Vanessa looked out the window of the plane, taking in the clouds they were passing through. "I worked with Madlax while I was in Gazth-Sonika," she noted quietly.

"Hmm," Elenore made a sound indicating she was listening.

"She saved my life more than once, and I saved hers," Vanessa mused, "when she was hurt by a mystic attack by Enfant, I protected her."

"You were close," Elenore nodded.

"It became... something stronger than friendship, for me," Vanessa admitted uncomfortably. "I'm not in love with her, exactly, but...," she trailed off, unsure how to put it into words.

"But?" Elenore asked.

"Now I know Madlax is a aspect of Margaret," Vanessa looked kind of bewildered, "and I'm not sure how I feel about that."

"I hadn't considered that," Elenore admitted. She too had worked with Madlax after Vanessa had been shot, and had developed her own degree of admiration for the agent. The woman was a virtual one woman army, combined with a gentle, sad serenity.

Vanessa sighed, "I'm not sure if I merely transfered the friendship I felt for Margaret to Madlax, or if it was something else again..."

"I don't know," Elenore said after a moment, "but I didn't feel the same things for Madlax as I did for Miss Margaret. The feelings were very different."

"That's comforting, a little," Vanessa admitted wryly.

Elenore shrugged slightly, "You're coming back home to tie up lose ends with your company, correct? As well as to make sure everything is fine with Margaret."

Vanessa nodded, conceding that as she said, "Yes, pretty much."

Elenore shrugged, as if Vanessa were being a idiot. "Then go back to Gazth-Sonika once you;re done and see Madlax," she said, "that way you can try to determine if your feelings are real."

"I...," Vanessa hesitated, then nodded, "You may be right."

"I'm always right, Miss," Elenore smiled.

"I wouldn't go that far," Vanessa grumbled.

End

Notes: Going by the scenes with Margaret at the gate, it looks to me like she revived Vanessa and Elenore, as well as fixing everything she could that Enfant had done. I may or may not continue this, looking at the aftermath of what happened.


	2. Two: Omake!

Madlax: Picking up the Pieces

Omake!

**One**

"I don't know," Elenore said after a moment's thought, "but I didn't feel the same things for Madlax as I did for Miss Margaret. The feelings were very different."

"That's comforting, a little," Vanessa admitted wryly. "Then again, you are the one who likes to give Margaret naked sponge baths."

"How did you know!" Elenore blushed furiously.

"Who do you think Margaret is going to ask about this stuff?" Vanessa sniffed, "I'm her cool big sis, you're just the maid."

**Two**

"All right, we've come back from the dead, have a cool car and no one's trying to kill us any more," Madlax noted as the light brown haired woman calmly took then through traffic, "what do you want to do now?"

"Go to Disney World?" Limelda Jorg suggested, the former army sniper sitting beside her.

"Tempting, but no," Madlax laughed.

**Three**

"I can't believe you're hanging out with this woman!" Vanessa yelped, waving a arm, "She killed me!"

"It wasn't personal," Limelda said mildly, sitting on the couch a little away from everyone else except Madlax.

"Not helping," Madlax said as she gave her a look.

Limelda shrugged, "Sorry."

"You're keeping a eye on her, even as she watches you," Margaret Burton noted wisely from where she was sitting.

"Pretty much," Madlax conceded.

"Or you're kinkier than we thought," Elenore noted as the maid brought in a tray loaded with tea and cookies.

"Oooh, bad thought," Vanessa winced.

Elenore raised a eyebrow, "Didn't you and Madlax...?"

Tellingly, both Madlax and Vanessa blushed.

**Four: Crossover**

There was a long beat of silence as they stood, gins pointed at each other. Madlax was taller, staring down at her foe, while the shorter black haired girl met her gaze coolly. Crickets chirped in the background, but bother were utterly still.

"How long are they going to stay like that?" Limelda asked curiously, casually leaning up against their car.

"I'm not sure," the woman who identified herself as Mireille Bouquet said honestly, "Kirika usually spots someone's weakness in a moment or two."

"That's gonna take a long while with Madlax," Limelda smiled. She looked at Mirelle, "Wanna go for a coffee?"

"Sure," Mireille agreed, leaving the two alone.

**Five: Crossover II**

" Kirika, you can't have pseudo-lesbian tension with anyone but me!" the dark purple haired Chloe protested, bursting out of the trees as she raced towards them.

Without even thinking about it Kirika and Madlax turned as one, centering their pistols on the annoying woman and firing away. Chloe was slammed back into a tree, sliding down to the ground into a pool of her own blood.

"That was oddly pleasant," Kirika noted.

"Yeah," Madlax agreed. Looking questioningly at Kirika she asked, "Ex-girlfriend?"

"Something like that," Kirika conceded.

**Six: Crossover III**

Guns blazed and explosives blasted as they ran across the killing fields, weapons blasting. Madlax dropped and rolled, shooting the brown haired woman's guns out of her hands then tackling her to the ground.

"Well fuck me," Revy blurted, looking up into Madlax's eyes with something like awe.

"Not on a first date," Madlax answered, keeping Revy pinned down as she asked, "Where are the rest of your crew?"

"Probably hiding at this point," Revy answered honestly. She looked up at Madlax thoughtfully then asked, "Are you single?"

"Huh?" Madlax blinked.

**Seven: Crossover IV**

Elenore hummed to herself happily as the maid cleaned, feeling rather content with her life. Ms. Margaret was home, safe and sound, Vanessa was coming over to tutor the mistress very often, and Elenore was shagging Vanessa whenever she got the chance. Life was good.

The whistling sound made Elenore jerk up, memories from her time in Gazth-Sonika making her eyes go wide. "Down!" she yelled, diving for cover just as the rocket propelled granade hit, blasting in the outer wall.

"What in the world...?" Margaret asked, the young woman hurrying in the room.

"Stay down," Elenore ordered, pulling out one of the spare guns Madlax had left, in case of emergency.

"Elenore Baker!" the voice boomed from outside, "Are you in there?"

Laetita peered around a corner, the younger redheaded girl looking around warily. "It's kind of nice that it isn't me or Margaret, for once," she noted.

"Yeah," Margaret agreed.

"Hush," Elenore ordered as she peered outside at the odd sight of what looked like a army jeep loaded with five maids and what looked like a deeply uncomfortable teen. "Yes!" she called out from the blasted in wall.

"We are the Lovelace Maids," the leader declared, "and we have decided to offer you membership in our elite organization!"

"Hell no!" Elenore yelled, "And who is going to clean up this mess?"

"Ooops."

Thankfully Elenore was able to browbeat the maids into helping with repairs. Margaret took a moment to talk to young Mr. Garcia Lovelace, and after hearing his tale decided that there really was someone out there with a worse background than she had.

"Sucks to be you," Margaret murmured.

"I know, I know," Garcia sighed as they hauled lumber over to help fix the wall.

**Eight Crossover V**

It was one of those days where Madlax wished she hadn't gotten out of bed. It was supposed to be a nice, simple assignment, go to a remote school, wing some kid to convince his guardians he was a target, then get out again. But almost from the start, there had been complications.

First, Limelda asked to come along, which was understandable Madlax thought. However they needed documents to get them through customs, and her contact got them Canadian passports. MARRIED Canadian passports. To say the least Madlax was not amused, though Limelda had a lot of fun playing the loving wife.

Then there was the odd school. The campus was the size of a small town, and the damn place was a damn maze! It took nearly a full day just to map the place and nail down the areas where their target frequented. Thankfully he mostly alternated between the dorms and his classroom, with occasional variations.

"I think we should try to snipe him, rather than any nearby attack," Limelda suggested quietly as they ate some very good meat buns at a shop called Chao Bao Z.

"You get the feeling we're being watched too?" Madlax asked quietly.

"Yes," Limelda agreed, "and... this whole situation seems odd. Who the hell wants to mock shoot a ten year old?"

"Well, us," Madlax flashed a grin as they ate.

The next day Madlax was perched in one of the many bell towers around the school, laying across the sun warmed wood as she aimed the high powered rifle. She breathed out as she took aim at the fountain their target ate lunch at, evening her breathing.

The only warning Madlax had was a flash at the corner at her eye, but it was enough. Madlax dodged the attack, grabbing the rifle in one hand as she leaped down, firing her pistol with the other hand. The dusky skinned and black haired young woman grinned as she dodged, barely staying ahead of Madlax's fire.

'Shit, she's a teenager,' Madlax thought as she leaped down to their fallback position, blinking in surprise as she saw Limelda being menaced by a Asian girl with a sword.

Madlax fired a shot close to the girl's face, giving Limelda a chance to use her rifle butt to drive the girl back. "Thanks," Limelda said as they bolted off together. "Trap?" she asked.

"Had to be," Madlax agreed as they ran through a forested park, one that was conveniently close to their planned snipe spot.

They burst through a clearing to find the two teens waiting for them, weapons ready. Limelda swings the rifle up, tending as she stopped and asked, "Madlax?"

Madlax had a gun in each hand, ready to do two gun mojo if needed as she addressed the girls, "How hard do you want to make this kids?"

Surprisingly the taller, dark skinned girl smiled as she lowered her guns. Taking a pouch out of her overcoat she tossed it to Madlax, "Not hard at all, ma'am."

Catching the pouch Madlax hefted it then opened the flap, noting the quantity of bills. "The other half of my payment," her mind raced, "you hired us?"

"Yes, ma'am," the Asian woman nodded. She looked at the other girl and frowned, "Well?"

"My name is Mana Tatsumiya," the woman bowed slightly, "I... hired you so I could see you in action, Ms Madlax."

Limelda blinked, "Seriously?"

"I'm a great fan of her's," Mana admitted a bit sheepishly. She took out a notebook from her coat and held it out, "Uhm, could I have your autograph?"

Madlax looked at her in disbelief even as Limelda broke up laughing.

End

Notes: Various omake set after the end of Madlax. Part three is based on my opinion that Madlax DID sleep with Vanessa at some point, as well as why she's really traveling with Limelda Jorg. Noir vs. Madlax, I would tend to bet on Noir, but Madlax does have those odd magic powers. Revy is from Black Lagoon, and part Seven is based on a Black Lagoon spoof I did called The Maid Team. The final bit is based off the Negima manga.


	3. The Greatest Maid in the World?

The Greatest Maid in the World? A Madlax Spamfic

In the aftermath of the battle in Gazth-Sonika, things gradually settled down in the Burton household. Yes, things were a little odd with all the extras who came with them, like Laetita, Madlax herself, and the sniper Limelda, whom Madlax appeared to be keeping as some sort of pet. Still, Margaret was glad that she was home, going to school again and living something like a normal life again.

Margaret did wish that Vanessa and Elenore would finally tell her about their being in a relationship. There were only so many times she could 'pretend' not to see Vanessa sneak out of Elenore's room, for instance, without looking like a idiot. And did they really think she's believe Vanessa had just came over really early, almost every day? Ugh.

But as the months passed and neared a year, they started getting guests. Women, mostly, though a few were guys, and they all wanted to see Elenore. They would watch her work, sometimes talk o her, then leave satisfied. It was all very strange and mysterious.

"Vanessa," Margaret finally gave in and asked, "why are these people visiting Elenore?"

"Well, it's sort of your fault, actually," Vanessa noted. "Well, yours and Madlax's," she added.

"Huh?" Margaret blinked.

"You two solved the whole Gazth-Sonika situation, then just left," Vanessa pointed out, "and you've done your best to wipe out any knowledge you were there."

"So we could live normal lives," Margaret said a bit defensively.

"But Elenore, you and I were sighted going through the country," Vanessa continued, "and Elenore was seen using her various martial arts skills."

Margaret blinked, "They think ELENORE stopped the war?"

"No one has any other explaination, and Elenore is quite remarkable," Vanessa shrugged. "The initial stories got more and more exaggerated, and... here we are."

Margaret sat back. Actually, she could kind of see it... Elenore had already shown she was physically capable after all. And imagining her with a machine gun in one hand and a grenade in the other wasn't THAT far fetched. Scary, YES, but not that impossible.

"So the strange women visiting are all maids?" Margaret asked.

"And Butlers," Vanessa agreed. She noticed a figure skulking outside and yelled, "Sebastian! It's okay to play with the cats, but don't freak out the neighbors!"

"Of course my lady," the eerily handsome man noted.

Margaret looked at the pleasantly smiling man and shuddered. There was something very... off about him. "Do we need to do anything?" she asked reasonably.

Vanessa shook her head, "It's fine. Just keep in mind a few of them are... kind of weird."

Just then a limo pulled up. A young man hurried out along with a cute young woman, the two of which helped a older woman out of the car. She had a artificial leg and a eye patch, but walked with dignity as she headed up to the house.

"Who is THAT?" Margaret had to ask.

"That's Roberta," Vanessa said, "she's quite nice for a ex-terrorist who went to war twice, once to save her Master's son and the other to avenge him. She makes a excellent tea."

"Ah," Margaret made a weak sound. Maybe she and the others should go out for the day or something...

To be continued...?


End file.
